Nice little OA21S

[Gromit]

Lovely amp this...

Onix OA21S built in the day when Tony Brady (now of Exposure) was at the helm. A great amp of its day which would, along with Exposure, NVA, Ion etc show a Nait 2 a clean pair of heels. Probably a tad heavy on the ££ side but worth 200 quid any day of the week. Fabulous phonostage too.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

What I can't figure out is why his new products at Exposure are not as good as his old ones or the ones designed by John Farlowe.

[Theo]

Disagree Doc - his new designs are excellent, especially his new 3010S2 power amps. The original 2010 and 3010 ranges were decidedly average though...like everything, I suspect market forces have a lot to do with output, but the new batch are certainly up there with his best stuff.

[Gromit]

What I can't figure out is why his new products at Exposure are not as good as his old ones or the ones designed by John Farlowe.

The S2's are very good indeed, but the ones produced when Exposure re-appeared (ie 2010/3010) were average at best. I heard Lefty's 23/28 'Classic' pre-power a while ago (which is based on a Farlowe circuit) and was mightily impressed. They go for cheap as chips too.

Edit: Theo beat me to it. :D

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Well I have only heard and heard of the stuff he did first off, I thought he had to keep building the old Farlowe designs as no one seemed to want his but there was still a demand for the old stuff.

[Theo]

Ah yes, the 23/28. I loved mine, but I'll be honest and say that the P50sa/A80s were far better at driving the speakers I had at the time. I sold my pair for £1300, but you can get them now for far less. The second hand market is so interesting at the moment: there are some genuine bargains out there...

[Gromit]

Ah yes, the 23/28. I loved mine, but I'll be honest and say that the P50sa/A80s were far better at driving the speakers I had at the time. I sold my pair for £1300, but you can get them now for far less. The second hand market is so interesting at the moment: there are some genuine bargains out there...

Too true - some guy was trying to sell a 23/28 in what looked like as-new condition but couldn't get a bite at £899. Silver finish though...Exposures have to be in black - it's the law.

Someone's after £480 for a virtually new 2010s2 aswell which would be a nice buy....but it's in silver.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

"The second hand market is so interesting at the moment: there are some genuine bargains out there..."

That is because so many people are skint!!

[Theo]

True, but not the point I was trying to make: there are brands that will always do well - even in these crappy conditions - and there are brands that slip under the radar. Newer/older versions of brands is a case in point: old Exposure holds its value, newer stuff does not, but therein lies the best chances of buying good stuff.

[Gromit]

Think it's worth noting that Tony Brady wasn't at Exposure when the 'new' stuff appeared on the market. I'm not 100% sure what his first Exposure product was, I'm thinking it may have been the 23/28 but could be wrong.

The 3010 I had, whilst not awful, was a terribly uninspiring bit of kit. Darn powerful though and grabbed hold of my little ProAcs well, although didn't make them sing in the way my Expo X or Super XV did.